BRISTOL, Tenn. - The holidays can be a tough time for military families, separated by deployment but a local Christmas tree farm is working to give them some holiday cheer.

Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree Farm crews have been preparing and packing Christmas trees all season long but not all of them are loaded onto the tops of cars and taken to homes in the Tri-Cities.

"Every year we get trees together from various farms and send them overseas to our troops or to various bases," said Julie Baldwin, of Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree Farm.

Baldwin and her parents have been a part of the national Trees for Troops program for a few years and the word is spreading.

"They'll come in, they know that we do this and they'll either donate a tree or the cost of a tree," Balwin told us.

They've raised a couple hundred dollars, she said, and already have 15 to 20 trees on the way to military families.

Baldwin told us there were about 200 trees in total sent from this region.

The trees are sent through Fed Ex to 60 military bases across the country and abroad, according to the Troops for Trees website.

Baldwin told us they are hand delivered.

"This is a tradition, going to pick the tree out together so they can't go do those things," said Baldwin. "To have someone come in and bring the tree to the house and a smile and a Merry Christmas from a stranger means the world."

The program hits home for Baldwin and her husband, they're both members of the Army National Guard.

In 2003, her husband, Ralph Norris, had a tour in Iraq.

"I've heard stories of people who are getting them now and how the families are really appreciating it," Norris told us. "You know, it's hard as it is with the loved one being gone and they get something in return."

The national program has sent more than 122,000 trees since it started in 2005. They hope to get it up to 140,000 this year.

Norris told us it's about more than just the numbers.

"That little relief, even though we couldn't be there, we know that people are thinking about them and taking care of them," said Norris.

Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree Farm will be collecting donations for Trees for Troops until they close up for the season.

If you'd like to make a donation to the program, you can stop by the Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree stand on Volunteer Parkway.

I sponsored a wreath in the name of my late father. I miss you Daddy. I'm sorry I didn't appreciate you enough when you were here.

Maine Company Looking For Help To Honor Fallen Soldiers With Wreaths

BOSTON (CBS) – A caravan of vehicles bearing Christmas wreaths is making its way from Maine to Washington, D.C. this week. Nine tractor-trailers are loaded with close to 100,000 small green wreaths, each tied with a red ribbon. It is the work of a non-profit Maine-based group called Wreaths Across America.

When the group began its work in 1992, volunteers placed wreaths at gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. Since then, the organization has grown tremendously and it now helps wreaths make it to 909 cemeteries nationwide. That’s a total of close to 550,000 wreaths, according to the group’s executive director, Karen Worcester.

“We have amazing people traveling with us on the convoy,” Worcester says.

On Monday night, the convoy stopped over at the Topsfield Fair Grounds to give drivers a break, to thank volunteers, and to get ready for the emotional ceremonies that will take place on Saturday.

“When we go to Arlington,” Worcester explains, “we place the wreath and we speak the name of somebody’s loved one. It’s the least we can do.”

But this year, donations to Arlington were way down. Typically, people sponsor a wreath by donating money to the charity. Worcester thinks that so many people focused on their local cemeteries this year, donations to Arlington fell off.

They hit the road this year between 10,000 and 20,000 wreaths shy of their goal. Still, volunteers are optimistic.

These days, the holiday season is really about peppermint-flavored everything and cats. But mostly cats.

We have cats in Christmas trees. Cats in Santa hats hating Christmas. Cats in Santa hats loving ... you get the point.

But some festive felines in Red Hook, Brooklyn, are taking their holiday cheer to biblical proportions. That's right – they're turning a local residence's nativity scene into a cat-ivity scene.

Sisters Annette and Sue Amendola have put up the manger scene in a lot next to their N.Y.C. home for more than a decade, reports the local DNAinfo. The traditional Christmas display, which depicts the birth of Jesus, has become a place for the feral cats to congregate during the holidays. The sisters say the cats cozy up between the Virgin Mary and Joseph, knocking the Jesus statue out of their way.

"People love it," Sue Amendola says. "But they really get a laugh out of the cats."

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Look no further than the scores of "layaway Santas" who are flooding the stores this holiday and proving that the Christmas spirit truly does live in the hearts of many Americans.

The way layaway Santas work is simple: do-gooders visit stores that have a layaway department, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart or Toys "R" Us, and offer to pay off the holiday layaway bills of others who are struggling to save enough to put presents under the tree.

Wal-Mart said it tracked more than 1,000 instances of lawaway Santas this season. Toy "R" Us reports 794 layaway Santa visits in 2012, while Kmart said big-hearted strangers spent more than $1.5 million in others' layaway contracts over the years, reports NBC News.

Most donors remain anonymous, but a few do come forward, including Dave Wilson, 65, who grew up poor on a farm in Iowa, but in Horatio Alger-like fashion went on to own 17 car dealerships in Orange County, Calif.

Every December he gives his wife Holly (yes, really) a special present: a Kmart receipt showing the thousands he spent helping others. Last Christmas he spent $18,000 paying off 320 layaway accounts. He has similar plans this year.

"It's not passing out Christmas hams or turkeys. They have to pay at least 10 percent ... this is something people have thought about and made an investment in," Wilson told NBC about his reasoning behind the yearly tradition.

Folks who cannot come up with the balance of their layaway account in time risk not receiving the gifts they earmarked for the holiday. That's why receiving the news that their accounts were paid off can come as a true Christmas miracle to many.

"Parents really want to make Christmas happen," Rachel Saraga, a manager at the Wal-Mart in King of Prussia, Pa., tells NBC of people who participate in their layaway program.

She sums up their reactions to learning their accounts have been paid off in one word: "Tears."

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Love a guy who can make me laugh :)

Man Travels Country in Pink Tutu to Cheer Up Wife During Her Cancer Treatment

Picture a heavyset man, wearing nothing but a pink tutu, leaping about New York's High Line. Would you believe he's doing it for his wife?

Bob and Linda Carey have been together since 1986. When Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, Bob started taking pictures of himself in said tutu to cheer her up. What started as a silly gag has become an unlikely symbol of hope for cancer patients across the country.

Bob's Tutu Project http://www.thetutuproject.com/about/ raises money for breast cancer research through sales of his prints, his photo book Ballerina and donations. His Carey Foundation is partnered with CancerCare, a nationally run nonprofit, to help distribute the funds they raise.

We like Bob's take on dealing with cancer: "This all sucks, you know? And it's stupid that it's happening." But, he adds, "There's no reason for us to suffer through it like this. I'm here to make people happy."

And it seems to be working: "It just makes me laugh, to see my husband dancing around in a pink tutu," Linda says. "It helps me be positive. The more I laugh, the better I feel."

Last edited by kuhio98; 03-07-2014 at 07:35 PM.

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Polk City, FL - It's probably the last place you'd expect to find one of Santa's workshops: inside a Florida state prison. But at the Polk Correctional Institution, each year a select group of inmates builds handmade, hand-painted, hand-crafted toys for good little girls and boys.

"Yep, this is Santa's workshop," added Brandon Niccoli, who is behind bars for strong armed robbery.

The idea of criminals-turned-carpenters started more than a decade ago and since the program began at Polk C.I., inmates have made more than 5,000 toys.

"We build toys 365 days a year, seven days a week," said Jennifer Selin, a corrections officer who oversees the program.

The toys are distributed to needy kids in Polk County through the Toys for Tots program.

However, officials say the program's success is not measured by the number of wooden toy cars or rockers that are produced; instead it's measured by what the inmates learn.

"A lot of us spent time taking from the community, so really this gives us a chance to give back," inmate Clayton Kammeraad said.

"One of the things that I always look for is what is my meaning in life... and right now my meaning is helping the needy children," said Stephen Muench who has a couple of years to go before he's released from prison.

"This is not my first time in prison, but I think I'm going to get the most out of this time in prison by just participating in this program," Steedley said.

Only a handful of inmates are allowed to participate in the program. In order to be selected from the general population, the inmates can't have any disciplinary write-ups within the past year and they must be nearing their release.

"Yes, we've all made mistakes and it wound us (up) where we're at, but not everybody in here is an evil person. There's a lot of people in here that have a really big heart," Kammeraad noted.

And this holiday season a lot of kids will have a little more holiday cheer thanks to the inmates at Polk C.I.

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JAMES ISLAND, SC (WCSC) - An employee at a Lowcountry Goodwill store is receiving praise Wednesday morning after finding $2,000 amongst some donated items and returning the money to its owner, according to a Facebook post from Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina.

The post states an associate was pricing donated items Tuesday at the James Island Goodwill when they came across $2,000, along with other paperwork, belonging to a doctor's office.

Officials then contacted the doctor's office to return the findings.

According to the post, the doctor rewarded the honest employee for returning the money and paperwork, which the employee then donated to the Goodwill Angel Tree.

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BUNNELL -- Harry Kuleski has become a fixture at the front desk of the Bunnell Police Department.

It's the only place this retired Flagler County Sheriff's detective can do his work.

And what work he's done. Acting Police Chief Randy Burke knew it would be a perfect fit.

"He's logged in the last year 1,500 hours of work time and has cleared, I think it's 700, over 740 cases in the time he's been here,” Burke said.

It's not anything new.

Departments all across the country bring in help to review cold cases, often retired detectives.

Kuleski dove in with a passion. “It's amazing," said Kuleski. "We had cases going all the way back to 1991. In fact, we just finished our last box last week.”

The best part of the arrangement, at least for the taxpayers of Bunnell, is that the services of Sgt. Kuleski cost them nothing.

He's a reserve sergeant for the department.

That's a rank he just got this week, which includes the use of a vehicle.

Acting Chief Burke said the promotion is the least he can do.

“The kind of experience that Harry Kuleski brings to the agency is phenomenal," Burke said. "The fact that he does it as a reserve officer, non-paid is even more phenomenal.”

Kuleski served 21 years in the sheriff's office and more than two decades in the United States Coast Guard. All that was after a stint in the US Navy during Vietnam.

He said being a cop is in his blood.

As for how long he'll keep doing this? “Till they kick me out. Till whenever," Kuleski said. "Until the girls drive me nuts or whatever, but as long as I can go for 'em and help 'em, I'll be more than happy to be here.”

Detective Kuleski is also teaching the young cops in Bunnell's police force which includes his son, who is in the field training program with the department.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - Pay it forward. There's now a website for that.

The just-launched site is the brainchild of Kelle Bovid, a 48-year-old Michigan mother of four who hatched the idea one day on the road home from Chicago.

"In the drive-thru at McDonalds, I paid for my drink but also for the meal for the gentleman in line behind me. The McDonald's employee was excited when I said I'd pay for the next meal and asked if I wanted to relay a message. I said 'just pay it forward," she told KOIN.com.

"I watched the man's reaction as he was told that his meal had been paid for. He laughed! So for $4 and some change, it made me happy, and brought some joy to the McDonalds employee and the guy who got a free chicken sandwich. Is there a better way to spend $4? I don't think so."

Over time, she took that feeling and idea and turned it into Miresi.org -- Miresi is the Persian word for kindness.

"Miresi.org is the result of a collaboration with Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. We were given a team of four students and 11 weeks to create the entire site," Bovid said.

Here's how it works:

A person goes to Miresi.org and creates a free account, then downloads and prints the pay-it-forward cards.

"Each card is coded with a unique number to enable tracking," she said. "Go out and do something nice for someone, and leave the card behind with the recipient of your kindness. The card will direct the recipient to miresi.org where they'll enter the card number, be able to see its history, and tell of their own experience. And pay it forward in their own way.

"Each person associated with a card will be able to see the history of the card and to watch as it moves forward."

Visitors to the site will also be able to see other people's acts of kindness, too, plus comments from people who've received the cards.

"Currently our tracking allows users to enter an address or zip of the location where the card or kindness was passed," she said. "Our next step is to create mapping which will give users a visual depiction of the card as the acts of kindness are paid forward."

They want people handing out more than one card because they know not every card will be acknowledged. The more cards in circulation the more likely people are "to see the impact of their act of kindness."

A mobile app is in development.

GVSU faculty member David K. Lange said his student teams work about 1000 hours on each project. He sees another student team working to build a better tracking system and better visual presentation.

"We want to bring joy to people," Bovid said. "I know how good it feels to be surprised by a random act of kindness and I'd like everyone to experience that.

"When people see how good it feels to surprise strangers, we're hoping they'll do it more often. We want people to see that their actions have real and lasting effects, and to inspire them to make all their actions positive."

(WTNH)--The morning rush at Starbucks on the New Haven green paused for a hush of giving.

Christie Colon was at the cash register when she was approached by a fellow worker.

"He said, use this credit card and I said, what's going on with the credit card?,'" Colon recalled.

"Well, the gentleman in the corner decided to give us the credit card so he can pay for everybody while he was there."

For an hour and a half, the secret Santa delighted people like David Gale.

"This gentleman just decided to break out his American Express Gold card," Gale said. "I've told everyone that would listen to me today that I just had a warm heart today, because it renewed my faith in man again."

The man racked up receipts totaling somewhere between $500 and $600.

"I asked him why he was doing this and he said 'just because,'" said Colon. "Then he actually tipped my coworkers that were on the floor. He gave us all an individual tip and when he did, I gave him a big hug and I was like thank you so much, so very kind of you."

"He was just smiling - ear to ear- you could tell it was genuine," she said.

A mix bag of customers got a taste of something good.

"People who spend $10 on their coffee or their lattes, they got a free one and then people who come in just to seek warmth got a free cup of coffee. I thought it was a beautiful thing," Colon said.

A beautiful gesture to be shared and celebrated in the wonder of the season.

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Cecil Williams to Keep Guide Dog Who Saved Him After Donations Pour In

Cecil Williams, whose life was saved by his guide dog after he fell on New York City subway tracks, will get to keep his pooch after animal lovers donated money to pay for the retiring pup's expenses.

Williams, 61, faced finding a new home for Orlando, the Labrador who jumped on the tracks to revive him after he fainted, because the 11-year-old pooch is getting to be too old to be a guide dog and the owner's insurance plan doesn't cover the expenses of nonworking dogs, the New York Post reports.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which trained Orlando, created a fund to help Williams keep his brave pup, and animals lovers have also donated more than $55,000 on the crowd-funding site Indiegogo so that the pair can stay together. "The spirit of giving, Christmas and all that – it exists here. It's in New York," a tearful Williams said from his hospital bed on Wednesday.

Williams, who became blind in 1995 from meningitis, was going to have to re-home Orlando in January and get a new guide, but thanks to the donations he can afford to keep the dog he calls his "best buddy."

The pooch jumped on the train tracks at the 125th Street station on Tuesday morning after Williams fainted and fell. Orlando began licking Williams' face to get him between the rails, where a train passed over them.

"That dog deserves to be spoiled rotten for the rest of his life," said Andrew Piera of Blue Star Transportation, who offered to pay for Orlando's upkeep. "This guy can't afford it and I can – and it's Christmas."

Williams has been moved by the generosity of strangers and by his dog's loyalty.

"I'm not a cry baby or nothing but my eyes are misty," he admitted. "He was there. He's always with me … He's always looking out for me. That's his job."

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CHAPEL HILL, TN (WSMV) - Anyone who's lost a loved one knows there are countless moments when all you want is another chance to speak to them again. One little girl wanted to reach out to her great-grandma, so she did it with a balloon.

"I really do miss her, because she was my favoritest grandmother ever," said Bella Hosford, of Chapel Hill, TN.

Bella lost her great-grandmother when Minnie Sue Watts died in August 2012.

"The last day I got to see her, it was a really special day to me, because I knew that she was going to go to Heaven," Bella said. "Whenever I hugged her, the last thing she ever said to me was, 'I love you, Bella.'"

A year later, the 8-year-old girl had an idea to say goodbye: a simple note tied to a balloon and sent into the summer sky.

"Tell Mawmaw I love her," the note said.

Months passed, and life moved on.

And on Monday, came a surprise. Bella got a response when a small box appeared in the family's mail.

"Then, when you open it and you see this brown satin envelope, and then you open it up and you see the locket with a balloon, and then it all hit you," said Bella's mother, Tricia Hosford. "We stood at the end of the driveway for probably five, 10 minutes, just crying and embracing and just absorbing the moment."

Whoever did it also sent a note on the back of the one Bella wrote.

"Dearest Bella," Tricia Hosford said, reading from the note. "Mawmaw is always with you. Just close your eyes and you will see her. Love, your guardian angel."

Consider that Bella released the balloon in a very rural part of Marshall County. It could be considered a miracle someone found it at all. But for someone to do what they did?

"I have no idea. No idea," Tricia Hosford said. "It's priceless."

"I thought that it had to be from Mawmaw," Bella said.

A few days later, it still doesn't seem to make sense, and that's OK. Sometimes the best moments in life are the ones you can't quite fully put into words.

"It was a very selfless act, especially at this time of the year, that is worth volumes," Tricia Hosford said.

"If I knew who that person was, I would walk up to them and hug them on their neck and tell them thank you," Bella said.

Bella told us she plans to wear the locket to school every now and again, but not too often. She worries she might lose it, now considering it one of her most prized possessions.

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A Christmas Miracle

'Miracle' puppy born in Aurora, surprising veterinarian who thought it had not survived

AURORA, Colo. - For nearly 45 minutes veterinarians thought a puppy was stillborn and tried to tend to the mother, when suddenly the new life began to move and cry.

Aurora Animal Shelter veterinarian Nicole Bartley wrote on the City of Aurora's Facebook page that she was preparing to spay three other dogs on Monday, when the dog in emergency labor was brought to the shelter's front desk. She determined that the unborn puppy was too large to fit through the mother's birth canal and rushed the dog into surgery for an emergency C-section.

"It was obvious the puppy had been stuck for a long time. There was a lot of infection and very little chance for the puppy," Bartley wrote. "However, we always try to save puppies and kittens born by C-section and the veterinary technicians went to work, but the puppy never breathed, never moved."

With the puppy unmoving, the veterinarian and technicians turned their attention back to the mother.

After nearly three-quarters of an hour of work, they were starting to wake the mother when they heard the newborn begin to cry from inside the blanket in which it was wrapped.

"It should not have been possible for that puppy to be alive that much later when we couldn't get it to respond right away," Bartley wrote.

Because of the miraculous circumstances surrounding the birth, the new puppy was named "Miracle."

Bartley also announced that the puppy and mother will be going into foster care.

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A California community has taken a holiday heartbreak and turned it into a touching Christmas story.

Residents of Lodi, Calif., joined together to replace Christmas gifts and other items stolen from the home of an active-duty soldier just before he returned from Afghanistan.

Cpl. Christopher Petrossian was getting ready to surprise his wife, Cheryl, and their two daughters at the Sacramento airport last week when he received a call informing him that their home had been robbed. About $5,000 worth of items, including their gifts and electronic equipment, were taken, ABC News reports.

Officer Eric Bradley was one of the police officers to respond to the break in, and when Bradley discovered that the burglarized home belonged to a soldier and his family, he encouraged his fellow police department employees to donate money and gift cards to the Petrossians.

Bradley, himself a veteran of the first Gulf War, started a movement of giving that stretched beyond the Lodi police department and out into the community.

"I think they were able to buy a good, substantial portion of the items they lost," Lodi Police Sgt. Doug Chinn told ABCNews.com. "And we have even more gift cards and electronic items to give to them."

"It's going to be nice to deliver them and see their faces," he said.

Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life. And it cost Halo hers.Ask your vet about Polycystic kidney disease ~~ Rest in peace WillyLoved by Lisa